Belief in False Beliefs

There is a sin of unbelief. Paul, speaking to the Jews in Heb. 3:12 said,
Take heed, brethren (Jews), lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
It is indeed an evil heart which refuses the Truth and Promises of God.

Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest (in which we cease from our own works, vs. 10), lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" Heb. 4:11-12. 

THE SALVATION OF THE LORD

"Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord."-Exodus 14:13

Most all of us know the story of Moses and the Israelites at the Red Sea. 

With the whole army of pharaoh pursuing them, and their backs to the Red Sea, God parted the waters so that they crossed on DRY land. But later, when all the Israelites were SAFE across, the waters came back and utterly destroyed pharaoh’s army.

“So the Lord SAVED Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Thus Israel saw THE GREAT WORK which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses.” -Exodus 14:30-31

RELIGIOUS ENTERTAINMENT

Religious Entertainment!

(A.W. Tozer - 1955)

A great company of evangelical churches have already gone over into the area of RELIGIOUS ENTERTAINMENT, so that many churches are tramping on the doorstep of the theater!

The tragic results of this spirit are all around us:

  shallow lives,

  hollow religious philosophies,

  the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings,

  the glorification of men,

  trust in religious externalities,

  quasi-religious fellowships,

  salesmanship methods,

  the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit.

These and such as these, are the symptoms of an evil disease--a deep and serious MALADY OF THE SOUL.

RELIGIOUS MISUNDERSTANDINGS

“Religious” misunderstandings, from both sides, stem from a lack of knowledge by believers of the TOTAL Word of God, and a general lack of knowledge of basic scriptures with non-believers.

Point #1…. One would understand and believe there IS, indeed, one God if one would STUDY His Word, not just casually read it. This is called head knowledge. Then one could decide whether one wants to accept His Son for their life or reject Him. If one chooses to reject Him, one would then be like satan… he believes in the one God but rejects His Sovereignty. So if you have made your choice - allow us ours.

I THANK YOU FOR THAT

Dear Father,

Here am I, again needing You to talk to,

1925 - 2011

because You listen, and care, and 

I thank You for that.

Lord, we have talked, it would seem, 

many times about everything there was 

ever a need for. Sometimes You needed 

to talk to me, and other times I needed 

to talk to You. Often, in our conversations, 

I was redundant; frequently I was bold; 

seldom was I selfish. Always You were patient; without wavering You were attentive; never 

were You dismissing. I thank You for that.

CHRISTIAN EXAMPLE

“…And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch”  Acts 11:26
The word “Christian” may have intended to mean, those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, or it may mean those who ARE like Jesus the Christ. With the former, one would not necessarily be demonstrating what it is to live as a Christian. With the latter, there would be no doubt.  If Jesus were physically among us (as then), I presume He would still be as controversial as He was.  But, as with those who then heard His Word and understood His Gospel message, and were enlightened to Him being the Son of God, and saw His convicting example, so the world, too, today would recognize the example of a Christ-like life. The reality is that the responsibility of example falls on true believers. I do not say “the Christian community” because as a whole, ecumenism has messed things up. The world of Christianity today is just that…The World IN Christianity! It is a mortal compromise.

1 THESSALONIANS 1

[Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians is considered to be one of Paul's earliest letters, and yet rich in the great doctrines of the faith, namely: Election, the Holy Spirit, Assurance, the Trinity, Conversion, the second advent of Christ, the believer's walk, Sanctification, the Day of the Lord (Jehovah), the Resurrection, the tripartite nature of man.] ~Scofield Notes

1 Thessalonians 1
1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;
3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

GO AND SIN NO MORE

John 8:3-11

3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst,

4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.

5 Now Moses, in our law, commands us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”

6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”

8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her....

FREE INDEED

“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” John 8:36.
What a beautiful dialogue Jesus has with scribes and Pharisees here in John chapter 8. They are often referred to as "the Jews", almost derogatorily.

You are free…sin no more!
The chapter begins with “the Jews” (scribes and Pharisees) bringing a woman to Jesus who had been caught in the very act of adultery. It was a set-up. The scribes and Pharisees probably already knew this woman and what she “did”. It is not good for me to speculate but, do we think this is the first time an occasion with this woman came up? They conveniently “caught” this woman in an act of adultery and confronted Jesus to trap him. The Law of Moses, of course, commanded that she should be stoned. They said to Jesus… “What do You say?”.

IS ANYONE POINTING A FINGER AT YOU?

We should not finger-point, unless we are using that finger to point out scripture. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works"  2 Tim. 3:16-17.

Or, to point the way to salvation, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me" John 14:6.

UNITY OF THE CLIQUE?

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” Ephesians 4:1-6.

A WORD TO PREACHERS

(excerpt)
Eccles. 12:9-11- Our Record

The Word of God teaches that fitness is required in those that minister. One cannot read the letters of Paul without being impressed with the need of spiritual gifts to minister the Word of God. The ability of putting before others what is on our hearts grows with the using of the gift as the plowshare becomes brighter not by sitting idle but by making repeated furrows in the ground. But there can be no greater mistake than to suppose that the more one stands and talks on the platform the better he will get at a gift he doesn't have. It is very sad to see one that has a ready way of speaking occupying the time of a meeting for thirty to forty minutes with what could have been easily said in twenty minutes or less. Such a person confounds talking with ministering and natural talent with spiritual gift.

Meditation - He gave good heed - He pondered as the Revised Version has it in verse nine. Paul's word to Timothy comes to mind here when he told Timothy to meditate on these things. When the portion over which we are exercised as to ministering is pondered, its hidden beauties open up to our souls and prevents our preaching from being just a wilderness of words that tends to spiritual penury. Meditation is the great need of the present but in the rush and bustle of life it is being neglected; nor does it appear that conditions are likely to improve with those that entangle themselves with the world. Those who are in the greatest danger of neglecting meditation and prayer in regards to ministering to the Lords people are those who have a ready way of speaking - trusting to that fact and the fact that they have done so many times before with the result being that the spiritual minded realize that there is a lack of weight in what has been said. W.J. McClure, 1917-2007 
http://www.plymouthbrethren.org/article/4395

THE DECLINE of CHRISTIANITY?

[…I am obliged to say plainly, that I fail to see that all the external improvement of the last forty years, is accompanied by any corresponding growth of practical holiness! There is no decrease in the total idolatry of recreations, or the extravagant expenditure of money, or self-indulgence of all kinds. On the contrary, there is far less repentance, faith, holiness, Bible-reading, and family religion! If this state of things is not a most unhealthy symptom in the condition of a Church, I know not what is! …The leading idea of many minds in this day appears to be, that it does not signify much what a man believes or teaches about what are commonly considered the principal verities of the Christian faith. A wave of extravagant liberalism in religion, as well as in everything else, is sweeping over England. Concerning the Trinity, the Divinity of Christ, the atonement, the Person and work of the Holy Spirit, conversion, justification, the inspiration of Scripture, the future state, and the like—it seems to be agreed that men may believe as much or as little as they please, and nobody is to find fault. The only question you are to ask is, whether a man is 'earnest, sincere, and zealous,' and if he is, you are not to ask anything more. It is thought very narrow and illiberal to say that any opinion in religion is false, or that anybody is unsound in the faith. Distinct and positive statements about anything in Christianity are thought downright uncharitable. All the old dogmas are to be held back, and never to be put forward in a solid, tangible state—or to be put forward in such a foggy, misty manner that, like a half-developed photographic plate, they are never to come out distinct, sharp, and clear. I challenge anyone who observes closely the pulpit utterances of this day, or reads speeches which touch religion, to deny the accuracy of what I have just said.] ~ (J. C. Ryle, "The Outlook" 1886).

Written in 1886 and addressing the prior 40 years!
Has it gotten better, or worse?

CHRISTIANS AND POLITICS

I am prompted to write this because of a post I saw on another blog, the subject of which was something I have been thinking about for a long, long time. Politics! …the most sanctimonious, self-centered, self-serving, self-righteous, two-faced, backstabbing, anti-God goings-on in the world (in my opinion). I would hope to raise more questions than ire, but I believe the Bible speaks to this. The aforementioned blog essentially said that we should vote for Mike Huckabee because he is Christian. Now, I want to premise my thoughts by saying if God wanted Mike Huckabee to be President, all the professing “Christians” in the world could stay home on election day and Mike Huckabee WOULD be elected! Does any REAL Christian doubt that?

GRAMMAR IN THE BIBLE

Verbs, nouns, direct objects, adjectives, aorist Greek, present perfect tense, future progressive, ad nauseam. No, I am not going into any English grammar dissertation. But I do want to express a point with regard to our understanding.

If you are an uneducated person, as I am, (a relative thing, no offense intended), reading the Bible in the Greek language would be a hilarious exercise in futility. I appreciate the English language is difficult enough to understand, in any venue, but with regard to Bible reading, it is important to have a QUALITY translation (very important) that is easy to read (within reasonable consideration)… not JUST something that is easy to read. What do I mean by that? Suffice it to say that if you do not have a high enough standard of "quality" then you are probably "drinking in diluted milk"… if you're lucky.

JUDGE NOT?

"It is better to have eyes for beauty--than for blemish. It is better to be able to see the roses--than the thorns. It is better to have learned to look for things to commend in others--than for things to condemn. Of course, other people have faults--and we are not blind to them. But then, we have faults of our own--and this should make us charitable!" ~ J.R. Miller, 1894.

FORNICATION - WORD STUDY

Society has long accepted the definition of "fornication" as, "illicit" sexual intercourse. Illicit presumably referring to, "out of wedlock". However, we seem to have come to a point (not recently) where society now has done away with the term "illicit" and replaced it with "consenting." The Encarta ® World English Dictionary now defines fornication as, "consenting sex involving somebody unmarried: sexual intercourse between two consenting adults, who are not married to each other." It expands on the meaning in reference to the Bible to include, "sexual behavior considered immoral: in the Bible, sexual intercourse between a man and woman who are not married, or any form of sexual behavior considered to be immoral."

MY FAVORITE PICTURE OF obama

Should be official presidential portrait....

CHRISTIAN EXAMPLE

“…And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch”  Acts 11:26
The word “Christian” may have intended to mean, those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, or it may mean those who ARE like Jesus the Christ. With the former, one would not necessarily be demonstrating what it is to live as a Christian. With the latter, there would be no doubt. If Jesus were physically among us (as then), I presume He would still be as controversial as He was. But, as with those who then heard His Word and understood His Gospel message, and were enlightened to Him being the Son of God, and saw His convicting example, so the world, too, today would recognize the example of a Christ-like life. The reality is that the responsibility of example falls on true believers. I do not say “the Christian community” because as a whole, ecumenism has messed things up. The world of Christianity today is just that…The World IN Christianity! It is a mortal compromise.

CHRONICLES OF NARNIA

The Chronicles of Narnia series is touted as a "Christian" story, declared to be so because there is a "gospel" message in it. The theme of Father/God sending or "offering" Savior/Son is very prevalent in the media arts. Some of the more recent novels and movies with "messianic messages" include SUPERMAN, STAR WARS, MATRIX, THE GREEN MILE, even BAMBI.

UN-BELIEF AND FALSE BELIEFS

There is a sin of unbelief.
Paul, speaking to the Jews in Heb. 3:12 said, "Take heed, brethren (Jews), lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God". It is indeed an evil heart which refuses the Truth and Promises of God.

ALL WE NEED IS LOVE

I would like for us to read some verses having to do with Love…

"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength" Deut. 6:5

"And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself" Matt. 22:39

"Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law" Rom. 13:10

"But You have, in love for my soul, delivered it from the pit of corruption, for You have cast all my sins behind your back" Isaiah 38:17

"For God so loved the world (kosmos), that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" John 3:16

ALL IS VANITY

IF...

…It can mean a condition or qualification; a requirement, or a stipulation (Encarta ® World English Dictionary). a conjunction used to indicate the circumstances that would have to exist in order for an event to happen. The event that God would have happen is Salvation for all… God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” 2 Pet. 3:9. The circumstances that would have to exist are the perfect keeping of the laws of God; sinlessness and righteousness in our lives; a devotion to and worship of God. Can't do it!

CARNAL OR SPIRITUAL Part 2

The Carnal Christian?
I do not presume a carnal Christian to be one who only wants Jesus as a kind of hell-insurance policy, as some describe them. I suppose I believe such a person to not be a Christian at all. Because if such a person made any kind of profession of faith motivated solely by “give me a get-out-of-hell-free-card” then such a person does not understand his sin, nor his judgment, nor God’s Holiness, and least of all…the person of Jesus Christ. And chances are such a person’s life would demonstrate the lack of a regeneration which the spiritually discerning would recognize.

CARNAL OR SPIRITUAL?

“For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace”.
Rom. 8:6 is my opening text, but for anyone desiring “context” I would suggest reading at least chapters 1-8. And then read also 1 Cor. chapters 1, 2 and 3. I would even go further to say that IF you are not studying the WHOLE Word of God, then you will seriously be lacking “context”.

GRACE

I am grieved, I mourn, I lament, I am distressed, I am pained by sorrow to hear/see/believe there are people who do not understand the gospel message…
G R A C E !!!  How then can anyone be saved?

One cannot have salvation if one does not understand Grace. That is to say; there is nothing of "works" in it. One cannot understand Grace if one does not understand sin; it is undeserved and unearned. One cannot understand sin if one does not understand what happened in the "garden"; man became totally separated from even coming to God without first repenting.

THE VEIL HIDES THE GLORY

But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.

Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Cor. 3:7-18

GO AHEAD… ASK

I have heard and read many times that God HAS to do whatever "YOU" ask of Him. Let me assert... God does not have to do anything. Oh He is true to His Word alright. But one must read the rest of His Word. There are major requirements from us before God starts "lavishing" upon us.

THE ILLUSION OF CHRISTIAN AMERICA

"Rather than acting as resident aliens of a heavenly kingdom, too often we sound (and act) like resident apologists for a Christian America. … Unless we reject the false reliance on the illusion of Christian America, evangelicalism will continue to distort the gospel and thwart a genuine biblical identity."  ~John Seel,  The Evangelical Pulpit

There are Christians in America, but there is no Christian America, especially in obama's delusional world. Ours is a nation of many religions… there is one group that worships the true God in the only Way… and then there are all the others. I know the argument that Christian forefathers founded this country on Biblical principles and under the direction of the Holy Spirit because God wanted a Christian nation.

MAN AND WOMAN

The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men. Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD, Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. Joel 1:12-15.

LIFE...DEATH...LIFE

We (you, me, everyone) will die. That is Simple, is it not? It is an inescapable fact. To leave it at that, though, is ignorant, reckless, irresponsible, and foolish beyond measure. Do you think so little of yourself? Do you think we are as frogs, or herring, or prairie dogs, or wildebeests that just come and go with little consequence (except as food for snakes, whales, coyotes and lions)? Have you watched the "Circle of Life" movie too many times?  If "birth to death" is all there is, then we (as a most intelligent, sophisticated, potential-of-a-creature) are a most pitiful, momentary breath in the eons of time. However, the significance of all these (animals), and others, is as nothing compared to the worth of man. The Bible says…

"Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings (one penny), and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: you are of more value than many sparrows" Luke 12:6-7.

ABOMINATIONS

What does “abomination” mean? …a disgusting, wicked thing.

So… pretty much everything we do is abominable to God. Having said that, let us explore what scripture says about abomination and abominable, understanding that those who are being abominable will find their own permissible excuses for being so.

ESSENTIALS AND NON-ESSENTIALS

"In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, love" ~Rupertus Meldenius, (circa 1627).
A pseudo-truism. Another axiom of ecumenism, frequently tossed out in an effort (no doubt) to "justify" everyone and achieve "balance". A false balance is abomination to the LORD  Prov. 11:1.

This slogan  is familiar to many, although there is some debate about authorship. Augustine was a great "promoter" of it. Such slogans can be misleading and should be avoided. ESPECIALLY when used to divide Christians, for such is what it does. This statement has misled many in the past and is still doing it today. The only part Rupertus got right is "In all things, love."

ECUMENISM

Ecumenism… i.e., let's embrace every religion, because we agree to disagree.
Technically, ecumenism applies only to Christianity, within Christianity. That, in itself is very curious. The devil is not concerned with compromising Islam or Hinduism because they have nothing to do with Jesus Christ. It is not necessary to corrupt these religions. They are already totally off the mark. The devil, satan is only attacking Christianity. Do you understand this?

NEW YEAR 2016

A Blessed New Year...

Even So, Come Quickly Lord Jesus.